Watching Jiraiya's nonchalant attitude, Rorin felt a bit of a headache. After thinking for a moment, he communicated with the system.
'System, give me another bug.'
[Understood, host.]
As usual, a faint flash of light appeared in Rorin's hand. Then he caught up to Jiraiya, reached out, and tugged lightly on his left shoulder.
Jiraiya turned around in confusion. "What is it? Bone brat."
Rorin grinned. "Hey, old man, we've been talking for so long—I'm getting a bit hungry."
As he spoke, Rorin 'awkwardly' covered his stomach.
Hearing this, Jiraiya smiled as he looked at him, thinking to himself: No matter what, he's still just a kid.
So Jiraiya stopped caring about the nickname Rorin had just given him. Wrapping an arm around Rorin's neck, he said boldly,
"Alright then. Since you've been so cooperative, I'll treat you to a meal. Let's go!"
Rorin chuckled, thinking he had managed to muddle through again.
The two of them then headed toward the village's bustling district.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara finally returned to the meeting point with Pain. The two slowly approached.
Ahead of them, Pain's projection created by the Magic Lantern Body Technique watched them walk closer. Not seeing the One-Tail jinchūriki anywhere, he questioned them.
"What's going on? Where is the One-Tail jinchūriki?"
Deidara spoke weakly, "Sorry, leader, something unexpected happened."
Pain's projection looked toward Sasori of the Red Sand, but Sasori simply shook his head and said calmly,
"I was only responsible for guiding him. I don't know what exactly happened inside."
Pain's projection said nothing more. Then he instantly activated the Magic Lantern Body Technique, pulling the other Akatsuki members into the 'group chat.'
Pain's projection slowly rose, staring coldly at Deidara.
"Explain. What exactly happened?"
Deidara began speaking at length. "I was just about to succeed, but then a Hidden Leaf Village ninja suddenly appeared and rescued the One-Tail jinchūriki."
Beside him, Itachi's projection fell into thought.
Pain's projection asked indifferently, "Who was it?"
Deidara shook his head.
"I don't know. I could only tell from the forehead protector on his shoulder that he was from the Hidden Leaf Village. I don't know anything else."
"Any distinguishing features?"
Deidara thought carefully for a moment before speaking slowly.
"I remember he appeared beside Gaara in an instant—I don't know what kind of technique that was. Oh, right, he could also grow a pair of wings and fly. And there was some kind of extremely fast technique, maybe ninjutsu or taijutsu—his whole body was blue, like a blue bird."
Hearing Deidara's description, Itachi filtered through one Hidden Leaf Village expert after another in his mind. In the end, he realized that none of them matched.
He secretly felt pleased: It seems the Hidden Leaf Village has produced new strong fighters. Its strength is growing stronger and stronger.
Meanwhile, Pain pondered briefly, then glanced at Itachi's projection and asked calmly,
"Well, Itachi, based on Deidara's description, do you have any candidates?"
Itachi's projection shook his head.
"I don't know who it is. In my impression, the Hidden Leaf Village doesn't have such a strong ninja. But it might be someone from the new generation. After all, I've been away from the village for many years, so I'm not very clear about its current situation."
Pain nodded, thinking he should gather more intelligence. After all, they would soon be moving to capture the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, and he didn't want unnecessary losses—though he didn't believe anyone could defeat him.
After all, he was a god!
Pain's projection looked at Deidara again and said softly,
"Deidara, Sasori, what are your plans next? If you truly can't complete the mission, I'll send another team."
Deidara waved his hand and argued,
"Leader, last time I just wasn't prepared enough. Don't worry—this time I'll make full preparations. I'll definitely succeed with ease. I'll show them what true art is."
Pain's projection remained expressionless, while Sasori beside him nodded slightly.
"Very well. I hope it goes as you say."
As soon as he finished speaking, Pain's projection disappeared. Soon after, the projections of the other Akatsuki members vanished as well. But just as Kakuzu's projection was about to disappear, Deidara called out to him.
"Kakuzu, I've got something I want to complain about."
Kakuzu looked at him with confusion and said coldly,
"Speak."
Deidara rolled up his cloak sleeve with one hand.
"Look at this outfit—the threads are coming loose. I want to file a complaint about the manufacturer. The workmanship is way too rough. What kind of cheap clothes are these? I seriously suspect that our failure this time was because this loose thread interfered with my performance."
Kakuzu's face darkened, though as a projection, Deidara couldn't see it.
Seeing that Kakuzu didn't refute him, Deidara grew more enthusiastic as he spoke, even pointing at Sasori of the Red Sand.
"Also, Kakuzu-senpai, Sasori-senpai's clothes have issues too."
Deidara ran over to Sasori, lifted his cloak, and said,
"Look, Kakuzu-senpai! The cloud pattern here is embroidered crooked. What was that manufacturer thinking? Taking our money and making clothes like this."
Sasori said nothing. Kakuzu, however, could no longer hold back and burst into anger.
"You brat, why do you have so many problems? What do the clothes have to do with you? Be glad you even have something to wear!"
Originally, Kakuzu could tolerate Deidara complaining about loose threads—maybe he really hadn't sewn it properly. But a crooked cloud pattern? What kind of nonsense was that? It was just decoration anyway.
Deidara, on the other hand, looked aggrieved. He had only wanted to complain about the manufacturer cutting corners. He had even thought Kakuzu would praise him—after all, defective clothes meant they could demand compensation. But he hadn't expected…
Meanwhile, Sasori seemed to have realized something and fell silent.
Rubbing his head, Deidara then looked at his empty left arm. He suddenly leaned forward ingratiatingly.
"Oh right—because of some mistakes this time, my left arm was torn off by the One-Tail jinchūriki. Could you help me reattach it?"
Kakuzu glanced at him and said flatly,
"Then come to the Land of Lightning. Hidan and I are heading there. Contact me when you arrive."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+70 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo